Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

ROK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $329.00 to $448.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $391.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, November 7th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $406.44.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $416.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 59,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 612,600. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $393.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $363.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.14. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $420.18. The company has a market capitalization of $46.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.42, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.52.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.40. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 10.42%.The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.92, for a total transaction of $92,039.68. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $827,151.36. This represents a 10.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 804 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.05, for a total value of $323,248.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,355,208.90. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 88,053 shares of company stock worth $34,718,919. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 468.8% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 91 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 48.7% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation is a global industrial automation and digital transformation company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The firm designs, manufactures and supports control systems, industrial control hardware and software, and related services that help manufacturers and industrial operators automate processes, improve productivity and enable data-driven decision making. Rockwell traces its heritage to the Allen-Bradley and Rockwell automation businesses and positions itself as a provider of integrated automation solutions across discrete and process industries.

The company’s product portfolio includes programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human-machine interfaces (HMIs), variable frequency drives, sensors, safety components and other industrial control hardware, often marketed under the Allen-Bradley brand.